On July 25, University of Arizona students began using Outlook for their email and calendar services as part of the university’s planned transition to Microsoft 365. The UA had provided advanced notice, allowing students to prepare for the migration from Gmail.
According to Adam Brokamp, IT manager of Collaborative and Academic Technologies, maintaining separate email systems for students and faculty had created challenges. “Managing two different email systems with students in Google and faculty and staff in Outlook created technical and logistical complexities, making it difficult for students to easily communicate with their instructors,” Brokamp said.
The UA intends for the transition to a single platform to improve reliability, security and collaboration. “Emails and invites are delivered directly where they should be and where they are expected — one location for all active members of the campus community,” Brokamp said. “The July 25 rollout was chosen to minimize disruption to academic schedules. This was a major technical project that required close collaboration and cross-functional teamwork from multiple IT teams to successfully transition student email to Outlook.”
Ahead of the fall semester, students’ email accounts and calendar events had been fully migrated to Outlook, ensuring they could access the new system as classes resumed.
According to Rebecca Ursule, a senior honors political science student, she received advanced emails about the transition but did not pay close attention to the dates. “One day, when I tried to send an email, I got a message saying it was blocked. Since I already knew the transition was coming, I wasn’t surprised. I had also been using Outlook through catworks.arizona.edu for my work with the Vertically Integrated Projects program, so the change didn’t feel unexpected,” Ursule said.
Ursule stated that she did not experience challenges adjusting to Outlook. “It wasn’t difficult. I manage to keep track of both emails and calendar events depending on what the event is for, also I feel the university provided enough information and support during the transition.” Ursule said.
Students access Outlook using their NetID at outlook.arizona.edu. All existing emails and calendar events were migrated automatically. Gmail will remain read-only until Oct. 1, after which it will be retired, according to Brokamp. Other Google apps, such as Docs, Sheets and Slides, remain available at google.arizona.edu.
According to Brokamp, students experiencing technical issues can contact the 24/7 Support Center. Students are now able to log in to their university email at outlook.arizona.edu using their same NetID and password.
The university provides setup instructions and technical support for mobile devices. IT services at the UA recommend the Outlook app, though instructions for iOS Mail or other email clients are available.
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